The Braves sent their allotment of six players to the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League this month. The league consist of six teams which are stocked by the 30 major league teams. It was conceived by the major league teams so they would have a way to monitor the progress of their young prospects without them having to leave the country. It also allowed the parent clubs to have tighter control on their prospects playing time as well as their diet and health.

Teams also wanted a winter ball league which would be convenient for both the players and for talent evaluaters. Their games are played in the Spring Training stadiums used by the Giants, Mariners, Padres, Cubs, A’s, Royals, Rangers, D-backs and Rockies. All of these stadiums are within 15 minutes of each other and the climate is conducive to late season baseball.

In all, 180 players are selected to play in the league with each major league holding a position draft to select the players who will play for each team. The players in the Arizona Fall League are good. The 2014 All-Star Game in Minneapolis featured 36 AFL alums. Nearly 60 percent of all AFL players make a Major League roster, with an incredible 212 All-Stars, 12 MVPs, four Cy Young Award Winners, three World Series MVPs, 66 Silver Sluggers, 58 Golden Gloves, and 25 Rookies of the Year.

First up is Dustin Allen Peterson, a 22 year old outfielder who was acquired from the San Diego Padres for outfielder Justin Upton. Peterson is currently playing left field for the Rafters. Drafted in the second round (50th overall) by the Fathers, he hales from Gilbert, Arizona, so he gets to visit his parents this fall.

Currently ranked as the 18th best prospect in a loaded Atlanta farm system, he batted .282 with 88 RBI and an OPS of .774. Peterson hit 12 home runs but struck out 100 times in 578 plate appearances. While in the Padres farm system, he played 3rd base but the Braves moved him to the outfield after he was traded and in 2016, he started 5 games in center field and 125 games in left. Evidently, the Braves feel his best path to the show is as a right handed power hitter.

He is still a couple of years away from the big leagues and his fortunes will be tied to his ability or inability to make consistent contact with the ball. While the prevailing Sabermetric wisdom is that strike-outs don’t matter, you still need to hit at least .250 if you are going to play in the major leagues. Currently he is batting .308 in 26 at bats with a double, a triple and 4 strikeouts. I know, that is a very small sample size so take away what you will. He has shown some speed on the base paths but he is 6’2″ and 210 pounds. He still has some growing to do.

Next is Travis Demeritte, a former Texas farmhand who was the number one pick (30th overall) for the Rangers in 2013. Travis was acquired from Texas in exchange for right-hander Lucas Harrell and lefty reliever Dario Alvarez. Harrell you might remember was signed off the scrap heap by Atlanta and rehabilitated by the Braves. He actually pitched well for the Rangers before breaking down after two games. Sort of reminds me of the used car that lasts until just after the 30 day warranty expires, but I digress. Travis Demeritte does come with a bit of baggage, serving an 80 game suspension in 2015 for testing positive for a banned substance.

Demeritte is projected as a second baseman and has a bit more power than the prototypical second sacker. The Georgia native out of Winder-Barrow High School has shown the ability to put the ball out of the park but says his goal in the AFL is to make more consistent contact and work on plate discipline.

The Braves current number 9 prospect was actually added to the Braves contingent to Arizona after 19 year old Ozzie Albies broke a bone in is elbow on the final game of the season at Mississippi. It’s my belief that Travis profiles more as a third baseman and will likely play that position at double A Mississippi in 2017 as well as 2nd as Albies advances to Gwinnett.

The last of this year’s crop I will profile in this blog is Dylan Moore, a 24 year old shortstop, a California native who played college ball at the University of Central Florida. Dylan has only progressed to advanced A ball at Carolina until September 8th when he was assigned to Mississippi this season. Originally drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 7th round of the 2015 draft. He is a bit old to still be considered a top prospect but he is still an interesting case. The Braves evidently have seen some potential in him. Currently he is hitting .368 with two home runs for Salt River. He came to the Braves as part of a three way trade with the Florida Marlins which saw Jeff Francoeur moved to the Fish. Officially, he was acquired for “other cash considerations” specifically International slots going to the Rangers.

Dylan is listed as a shortstop and will likely start the 2017 season as the starting SS for Mississippi but he has also logged time at both second and first base. I suspect he will not be a starting shortstop in Atlanta with phenom Dansby Swanson blocking him but you just never know what the future could hold. After all, one of these guys could be converted to catcher…

Methinks (homage to our old friend) that Dustin Peterson is closer to being ready than some think, and that he may turn out to be a better player than some think. All-Star? Maybe not a perennial All-Star, but I wouldn’t rule out an appearance at some point. And he’s still developing his power. He was the Organizational Player of the Year for 2016. The move to LF was the right move for him. He is solid with good fundamentals. After spending all of 2016 in AA, he’ll be right down the road from Cobb County’s SunTrust Park in 2017 plying his wares in nearby Gwinnett County, home of our AAA little brothers. It’s just a 30-40 minute drive on the interstate, unless it’s rush hour, in which case it could take a couple of hours. I-285, our perimeter by-pass, is the worst drive ever during rush hour, which is why I moved away from down there into the foothills. But I have strayed away from the topic again…

DPetey made great strides in 2016, cutting down on his K’s and making better contact, which is exactly what was expected of him at that point in his development. Now let’s see how does against better pitching at a higher level.

I have written about him alot for a number of reasons. First, he’s kind of flown under the radar. When the trade went down, the names were Justin Upton and throw-in P Aaron Northcraft for uber-prospect LHP Max Fried, CF Mallex Smith, 2B Jace Peterson… and Dustin Peterson, who was also a 2B/3B. There was alot of excitement over Fried and Mallex. Then Jace forced himself into the picture. But most people forgot all about DPetey. All he has done is exactly what has been expected of him along the development pathway, including making a clean transition to OF. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get time in RF at AAA.

If we hadn’t snagged the resurgent Matt Kemp (signed through 2019), we might already be talking him up more. But having Kemp allows DPetey to continue to go about his business for another year of development with no pressure to be brought up too quickly. And if Kemp does get himself into better physical shape and has another 30 HR, 100+ RBI season, Matt could become a trade candidate at season’s end, or maybe even at the deadline. His $21.75M annual salary is more reasonable than Jason Heyward’s, and alot less than Cespedis will get in FA this year. And considering that LA pays $3.5M of it, and SD pays another $2.5 of it, it starts to look alot more appealing. What contender couldn’t use Matt Kemp’s bat for $15.75M? One almost wonders if a team like Boston, who is losing Big Papi, wouldn’t come calling this winter looking for a replacement DH.

What I’m driving at is this… if DPetey demonstrates in 2017 that he will be a solid contributor at the ML level in 2018 and beyond, I believe he has a shot to become a part of a core of young OF’s along with Ender and Mallex. And that is exciting to consider.

So, Rob Mansfield has told the Indians they are going to have to ditch the “Chief Wahoo” logo

I had not read that yet, but am not surprised in the least. In fact, I was a little surprised to see that it is still prominently displayed on the CLE unis and caps. I thought they had already caved to PC pressure and were just going with the block “C”. It was a pleasant surprise to see the iconic logo proudly beaming the other night, but kinda figured the big stage would draw alot of attention to it.

A wise man said many years ago when Bill Clinton (probably having his strings pulled by Hillary or George Soros) began his PC propaganda blitzkrieg that Political Correctness would be the pathway to the fall of a great nation. I clearly remember hearing those words, but sadly not who spoke them. Still, they have always stuck with me, in a somewhat haunting manner. And now we see it playing out everywhere.

Maybe they should just start naming teams after corporate sponsors.

The fear is that all teams will eventually be known as the Eloi. (Look that one up…)

And as this was going on, I was meeting with a music industry record label A&R rep at a McDonald’s in Morrow, GA. We met backstage at a concert, and the guy was hungry… so we moved our meeting to McD’s. He ate; we listened. We were talking about signing a very restrictive and small scale record deal. My band didn’t care for the restrictions or what would amount to a style change and politely passed on the opportunity. We stood on principle and felt any change would be selling out our current audience. It was the closest I ever came to a record deal. Upon further review, I would pass it up all over again. It wasn’t worth it.

The only thing I might change is that I wouldn’t have had the meeting at all. It made me miss the only World Championship moment in ATL sports history. And it was my beloved Braves. Sigh.

105 mph is some pretty serious power. I still think Travis will project out as a third baseman… No room for him with Ozzie playing second. Then again, Ozzie has to win the job first and Jace will try to hold everyone off but I don’t think it will happen.

I will write about the other three prospects in my next lead. Nothing spectacular but some trends I’ve noticed.

The guy was honest and very open about what their expectations would be. It certainly wasn’t anything sleazy or underhanded. The record industry, even on the Christian side, is a business that is less interested about the art and more interested in ability to sell the product. “Artists” have to earn the right to regain their creativity. That’s pretty much true across the spectrum of genres. We just chose not to give it up to begin with.

Braves outfielder Mallex Smith was released by the Hermosillo Naranjeros after struggling during his first 2 1/2 weeks with the Mexican winter league team.

Smith had been scheduled to play for the Naranjeros until late November but was dropped from their roster Friday after batting .109 (5-for-46) with two walks, 12 strikeouts, a .157 OBP and .418 OPS in 12 games. He had two triples, one home run, three RBIs and two stolen bases in three attempts.

I guess the book is out on Mallex, Something that will carry over to the 2017 season. It is not that young hitters cannot hit breaking stuff, it that often they cannot recognize it. That and even the best hitters cannot hit really good breaking balls, The only players who can are usually slap hitters who stay back a long time and do not over swing or commit too early.

Chris Ellis is taking his lumps this fall. From what I can gather looking at the data is his BA goes up when facing hitters with runners on. I’m thinking he is having control problems when throwing out of the stretch. Hey, he’s still a pup… I will detail him in my next lead.

It was a pitching match-up for the ages last night between the Cubbies and the Wahoos. One run was the difference but perhaps what was more telling was when Joe Maddon pulled Soler from third base and replaced him with Jason Heyward. The replay showed if Solar had been running out of the box instead of lollygagging to first on a fly ball hit to right and somewhat misplayed by Chissenholm, likely he would have scored and inside the park home run and tied the game…

The same thing is happening to the Cubs that happened far too often to the Braves, no # 4 and 5 starters to fatten up on. No weak bullpens to comeback on after being down late. Cleveland is just too solid top to bottom. Now, I won’t be surprised if the Cubs win tonight but I would be stunned and amazed if the Indians don’t win the series.

Gil, forgot to say, fine work again with the lead! 🙂
Last nights game…wow….My Dad is not a baseball fan, yet he saw Cardinal ,and St Louis Brown games in old Sportsman park as a kid…
Anyway, last few years I can get him to watch some games, if they are exciting…this year, he kept saying to me, wouldn’t it be great if the Cubs won the W.S.? Yes Dad, it would…he would ask me off and on during the year how they were doing….He wasn’t able to quite grasp the multitudes of tiers in the way for the Cubs (Remember, when he was a kid, the NL team played the AL team for the W.S.) but I reminded him of the fact he was forever asking about them , how they were doing….so got him to watch some games, at least a few innings, the last ones mainly in the Dodgers-Cubs series….anyway, watching more of the W.S. games, except when the Indians have been putting a beat down on the cubbies…that depresses Dad , me too 😉

The game last night…man, so much tension! The Cubs do remind me of the Braves in that they clearly have more talent, top to bottom , at least in the lineup….but getting the bases loaded usually has meant a strikeout then a pop-up…sound familiar? So glad to see the Cubs come back after the Indians scored first (Up til last night, the Indians have won every single playoff game they scored first) if nothing else, I was hoping the Cub fans could see 1 lousy win at Wrigley . They got 1, but it wasn’t lousy. I thought it was big that David Ross got a Sac fly, though for a sec thought he had a Homer. 2-1 better than 3-1 but felt they should have gotten more runs with the bases loaded…seeing Cleveland get a run to make it 3-2, I was sure, just sure they would tie it up only to win it in Extras, some horrible way to make the cubs faithful cry worse than babies…while it felt like it was gonna happen, it didn’t!

I can’t get used to taking starters out so quickly….but I guess you can’t argue with the results, eh? Chapman worried me, lost a few MPH for a batter in the 9th….then it was back to 100 + MPH….
Even if the Cubs lose, at least they gave the fans some thrills, and FOX’s ratings I am sure are great….with more and more folks turned off by the NFL’s do what you like during the National Anthem (Just don’t dare honor fallen police in Dallas with something on your uniforms, or to honor 9-11 victims, that is clearly wrong 😦 ) I’d love to see baseball make at least a bit of a comeback. No football game could have that kind of edge of your seat intensity for 4 quarters…

Yes Ber, pretty exciting game. Cleveland kept putting guys on base but the Cubbies would wiggle out of it. I’m not sure why Madden took David Ross out of the game too but like Francona said, it’s no way you would manage a team the way you do in the Series.

That sac fly did make a difference though.

Chapman struck the last batter out he faced with a 100, 101 and 102 mph fast ball…

Me too. But as long as they continue to insist on placing their most exciting moments and biggest stage after most kids and many adults go to bed, they can forget it.

Really p!$$3$ me off that I can’t keep my eyes open past the 7th inning, which is when I drifted off… again. But that’s OK. I can turn to other sports that understand that keeping the fans coming back for more is a healthier business model than bending over for the sponsors. Makes me feel more important to them even if I’m not. At least I can see the final moments of their games.

It really is sad. Mrs. Vox, who doesn’t watch much in the way of baseball anymore (another story altogether, but not so unrelated), even remarked about how every single pitch seemed to be more exciting than any moment in most regular season games. And it’s true. The excitement of a WS game is unrivaled. Too bad the future fans, a/k/a kids, won’t ever know that. They just go to their computers at a more convenient time the following day and pull up the score. Actually, they pull up individual stats of whomever is on their fantasy team… then the score. Maybe. Baseball is killing itself slowly.

Wonder why those cesspools of “journalism” like SportsCenter now give you more highlights of individuals and more individual stats than actual detailed game recaps? Because their target demo couldn’t care less about such things.

Truth is that even I have cared less and less about game to game action during the season. I bet I watched less baseball this past season than ever before. I said the same thing last year. And I didn’t watch a single inning of a playoff game until late in the NLCS. Thus far I have watched WS Game 1, a handful of innings in Game 3, and roughly innings 3 thru 7 of Game 5. And I haven’t really missed what I’ve missed. And that makes me as mad as anything. It’s one thing to steal the games away, but an entirely different thing to steal my joy away.

Okay, time for a nap… old people are like that you know, stay up late, get up early… time has to be made up or lost somewhere else.

I keep thinking that something interesting will happen while I’m asleep so I will have a topic to keep me engaged but it hardly ever seems to work out that way….

On a completely different topic, I made the mistake of clicking on a site that rated the 100 best western movies… They had “The Good, The BAd and The Ugly listed as their number one…. Wow, where they off the mark in my opinion. Any Tom Selleck western would be better than any spaghetti western ever made. For that matter, most Randolph Scott movies, any other Clint Eastwood etc. Even Audie Murphy… It is like those pretenders who follow fantasy sports and forget to follow the sport.

How many times have we seen a game turn on a single pitch because it was called incorrectly? Those don’t make the highlight reels but often they lead to what happens next.

Did y’all know that Matt Wisler has been getting some Winter League work in down in the ol’ Dominican Republic? In 9 IP (over 2 starts) he has yielded 5 H and 0 R, w/ 12 K’s and just 1 BB. That’s good work, even in the Liga de Beisbol Dominicano.

CL, it is such a flattering thing to know folks are reading the old B & S and extrapolating out our thoughts. I guess I will have to come up with something else for the next lead… or not… Maybe I can find something new.

V, Not necessarily defending the time games start…but, games are starting at 5 PM west coast, and 7 PM for Cub and Indian fans (Wonder how much longer we will be allowed to say/type, the Cleveland Indians?) Also, until this year, I think baseball higher ups feared a shellacking in the ratings if baseball went up against college or Pro football on the weekends if there were day games…My Dad heard Rush say Baseball ratings overnight were much better than the Sunday night football game,which is great…
Wonder what the best compromise would be? 7 PM EST? Or 7:30 EST? Often not much happens the first few innings…so fans coming home/after dinner will still see something…a 4 PM game on a Tues, not many folks will see that either…..

games are starting at 5 PM west coast, and 7 PM for Cub and Indian fans

Yep… exactly. But it isn’t for the fans. It’s to ensure that they hit Prime Time advertising rates for all time zones. I would be willing to bet that if the game started at 4pm on the West Coast, it’d get as good a ratings in that market as it gets starting at 8pm on the East Coast. But if they did that, the game would end (maybe) before the magical 8pm Prime Time gold mine in that market. And we know that can’t happen. That would result in a lower advertising rate and less TV revenue. They’ll be snowboarding in hell before MLB leaves $$ on the table.

My Dad heard Rush say Baseball ratings overnight were much better than the Sunday night football game,which is great

Exactly. Just as they want. The ratings are the key. That’s what they care about, not the fans.

The truth is that they get these higher ratings because TV’s on the East Coast turn the games on between the Prime TIme ours of 8pm – 11pm, but can’t stay with them. So even though many of us can’t hang onto the 4 hour broadcast past 11pm, the fact that we have the game on for the first 4 or 5 innings still helps fill the deep pockets of MLB.

I’m not even going to turn on the possible Championship Game tonight. No need to. I know I won’t stay with it. I’ll just read about it tomorrow as I’ve become accustomed to. If I start it and it’s a great game, but I fall asleep because I am a reasonable everyday Joe who has kids to get off to school and a job they get up for in the morning, it’ll make me madder that I missed the end.

And I think that is where my rant has been directed. I’ve become accustomed to NOT watching games, just reading recaps. There was a time that would be unconscionable. But not anymore. And that makes me more angry than anything.

As much as the mainstream media wants us to make this election about personalities, it’s still about ideologies, platforms and the ramifications of our choices. I’ve heard so many who want to play on some moral high ground with one side or the other, and that’s nice and sounds great. But the reality is that at the end of the day, either Thing 1 or Thing 2 will be president. Every vote will count in this one, and every non-vote will count as well. And as far as I see it, a vote for a 3rd party candidate is no different than taking your ballot and tossing it in the trash can.

We’ll have a president-elect on November 9. People have the opportunity to choose between the 2 candidates that have a true and real chance to be elected. Any other choice is still a choice, but the difference is that those people lose before the ballots are even counted. And the nation loses because our privilege to a meaningful vote is eroded even more. It’s hard enough to vote against felons and corpses without members of the home team choosing to just stay at home.

So people have the choice to choose between increased gov’t control from womb to tomb, or for more individual liberty. We can choose a candidate long associated with Saul Alinsky and George Soros, or one who has a vested interest in improving our gasping economy. We can choose a candidate who is a proven liar, a proven political manipulator, and a proven political intimidater, or one who is bombastic, overbearing and pompous. We can choose between one who ignored the repeated pleas our own agents in a foreign land allowing them to be brutally murder, all the while falsely blaming a YouTube video which she knew was a lie, or we can choose a guy who would carpet bomb the perpetrators of such heinous acts. We can choose a candidate who will give our tax dollars and rights to millions of people here illegally, possibly forever tilting the vote in her party’s favor, or we can vote for someone who wants to take our country back from those same tax and benefit leaches.

We can choose one whom we know is an enemy of our Constitution and only out for personal gain, or we can choose a Wild Card of whom we really don’t yet know what to make. At least we have a chance that he’ll preserve our republic. With Hillary, we have assurance that we will continue down the path to Socialism. Eight years of Obama has put our republic right in the toilet. Hillary will surely pull the handle.

This one is easy for me. I’m not sitting on the sideline. #neverhillary

OK… away from the seriousness in life and back to the fanciful diversion that makes all of the above tolerable…

One way or another, by tomorrow night we will have crowned a World Series Champion and capped another MLB campaign. And that means one major thing for we fans here in Atlanta: someone will set a match to the Hot Stove and start it to warming up.

The GM meetings will begin next week somewhere in Arizona (I think) followed by the more important Winter Meetings next month in DC. Not much really happens that is headline worthy at the GM meetings, but often conversations are started there that come to fruition at the Winter Meetings. It’s a chance for all the GM-types (many have new fancy titles these days) to get together and just start taking inventory, their own and everyone else’s. That’s when they get a real feel for who might be available for the right asking price, who might simply be cut loose, and who might be out of their price range from the get go.

For we fans, it’s when we might get a rumbling or 2 from some of the looser lipped organizations. But ATL is not one of those, so alot of the whispers we hear that might affect us won’t be very credible.

Yes Vee, unfortunately, the lame stream media is doing their level best to suppress the truth. They have been getting their talking points from the Clinton machine for years. They follow the script so well, they sound like parrots… Come to think of it, they are parrots…

More frequent news coming out of the AFL. I may have to come up with something different just to keep the beat writers guessing..

The Orioles continue to ponder whether they should make a $17.2 million qualifying offer to catcher Matt Wieters. They’ve had internal debates since he accepted the last one ($15.8M in 2016).

I’ve heard that they’re weighing both sides and I sense that they may be leaning more toward not giving it to Wieters, who hit .243/.302/.409 with 17 doubles, 17 home runs and 66 RBIs this season in 124 games. But they’re far from solidifying a decision.

Is Wieters worth $17.2 million? That’s the center of the debate. He’d rate as the top catcher on the market and it’s hard to imagine agent Scott Boras being comfortable with Wieters again taking the offer. However, it’s ultimately Wieters’ call.

As far as the Braves go, if he receives the QO, they pass immediately as they won’t give up the draft pick to ink him. If he doesn’t, then it’ll be because Scott Boras thinks he can do better on a multi-year deal. Now “better” is the operative term. More years will = less $$ annually.

No way Wieters signs for less than a 3 year deal. This is his best last chance to cash in, and I can’t imagine him taking anything less than 3 years. He also won’t take less annually than his $15.8M he received in 2016, so one can reasonably figure it to go somewhere in between $15.8M and $17.2M. Now again, 3 years of guaranteed money also carries some weight, so I predict he’ll sign for around $16M annually for 3 years.

That’s a hefty commitment for a team to a guy who has had some offensive decline. Still, he’s a solid receiver and great veteran presence for a young pitching staff. And don’t underestimate the value of that part.

If you compare that to the remainder of Mac’s deal – $17M annually for 2 more years, plus a vesting option for 2019 at $15M – then you begin to see what the catching market will really look like.

And here is the numbers comparison from 2016:

Mac: 114 games started, but only 83 played as C; .242/.335/.413 w/ 20 HR, 58 RBI.

Other differences: Mac will be 33 when 2017 opens, Wieters will be just 30. Wieters is a SH.

One big non-performance related difference: Mac will cost you a couple of prospects plus the $$. Wieters will just cost the $$.

So here’s how I see this one coming down.

True enough, where’s there’s smoke, there’s fire. And there’s been a good bit of smoke coming from the Mac reunion camp. If the Yanks would take lesser prospects, i.e Chris Ellis and Dylan Moore, and also pay a portion of the remaining money, say $6M or so annually, then the 2 teams might have some common ground. If not, Coppy will go elsewhere.

Much will depend on how badly Brian Cashman wants to move Mac outta the Bronx, because I do think there’s some mutual interest there. But not for an elite prospect, and not at anything near his $17M annual payout.

My gut says Mac stays in the AL where he can get time at DH as well as behind the dish. He’s actually a perfect fit in HOU where he can alternate with our old buddy Evan Gattis. They are likely to lose Jason Castro to someone else. (Maybe even to ATL.)

If Wieters has the QO, then it’s a non-starter. If not, does his price tag go higher than 3 yrs / $48M? I don’t see Coppy ponying up beyond that. And realistically, I don’t really see him ponying up that high. Not with pitching being a higher priority. I think he’s got the $$ in his budget, I just think he’d rather give it to Ivan Nova or Rich Hill.

So I say all that to say this: I believe our next C will be a guy we’ve either not mentioned, or 1 we’ve only mentioned in a cursory way, like one of the guys from COL or something.

And I still believe Derek Norris is a good bounce back candidate, if the “buy low” price is right.

“If Wieters has the QO, then it’s a non-starter. ”
but, having what, the 5 worst record in baseball, the braves pic is protected, correct? Sandwich pic at worst?
I don’t see any reason to get him over McCann….save prospects. And…you have to give up something in a catching short market. And, we have what, 10 potential MLB starters in the minors? Baltimore had a crazy good offense, and Wieters still sucked…McCann….is 1 year removed from 26 HR’and 94 RBI’s. Wieters has never hit as many HR’s or driven in that many. this year, he hit 11 HR’s in Yankee Stadium, 9 on the road…not like he hit 15 at home. And the Yankees offense really sucked last year. How bad? the top 2 RBI guys drove in…..70. Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro tied. AROD his .200. Mark Texiera drove in 44 and hit .204. Aaron Hicks hit .217. Basically, everyone save Carlos Beltran (who was traded away with 2 months to go) stunk. It had to effect his hitting. Trying to be the man cuz no one else was…and hitting with no runners on…just isn’t a good thing.

Also, you just never know when a catcher will go downhill offensively, I am sure many thought AJ was done before hitting .300 with the Braves at 38.

Remembered reading something about Wieters on MLBTR a few days back….from the 24th….On the defensive side of things, Wieters threw out 35 percent of opponents trying to steal against the Orioles’ pitching staff while he was behind the plate — an encouraging outcome for a catcher that had Tommy John surgery in 2014 and dealt with elbow tendinitis last year — but he once again drew poor marks in the eyes of pitch framing metrics. Baseball Prospectus rated him as below average in that regard for the fourth consecutive season, while StatCorner.com has been giving Wieters a below-average framing grade for five straight years.

not the biggest fan of boutique stats, as I am sure everyone else here is of the same mindset…but, we see in the playoffs it does matter how one frames a pitch….and McCann is supposed to be good at that…
Oh, and Wieters is going to be 31 in May, (McCann will be 33 in Feb) so even less of an age difference than we thought…

Aside from the financial stand point, McCann is not a bad bridge to someone else. His bat slowed noticeably as he went deeper into the season while a Brave but if he were in a platoon with Flowers, I think that would be less of a problem.

Brave but if he were in a platoon with Flowers, I think that would be less of a problem.

He was only behind the plate for 83 games last season, and still looked “old” late in the year. I think more than a 162 game season caught up with him. I think his 12 years on the back of the baseball card did.

For the record, I do not believe either one of those guys will be catching our pitchers next season. But I do believe both will be hot in the rumor mill because it’s low hanging fruit for the click baiters.

As for the more notable FA names, I’m not ruling out Castro completely, but I have serious doubts. I think they value his ability to catch a young staff, but I think he’s probably the #3 ranked catcher coming out and thus will cost a-plenty in an inflated catching market.

But let’s not forget that the bottom line is still to complete The Plan, and overpriced veterans isn’t a part of that. That goes for Castro, Wieters and Mac alike. You can add Alex Avila and Nick Hundley to that list as well.

We already have a guy that kinda fits the same mold in TFlow. Where’s the upgrade?

As has been stated, I think if a catcher is had, it’ll be a youngster from another organization via trade. Somebody with a couple of years of team control at least.

Neither Brett Cumberland nor Kade Scivique have given any indication that they will become a bona fide MLB catcher. The closest thing we have to that is Lucas Herbert, who finished 2016 at A- Rome. He’s a 2019 arrival at best, and that’s as long he continues to develop. He’s just 19 years old, although he will turn 20 before November flips to December. He’s the team’s highest ranked C prospect at #26. Neither Cumberland nor Scivique show up on the Top 30.

Here’s an interesting tidbit about Herbert: He was Kolby Allard’s HS catcher, and got noticed when the team was scouting Allard. They liked him enough to make him a 2nd round pick, and he hasn’t disappointed.

His scouting report says he has excellent all-around skills behind the plate. He’s very agile and has good hands, already has game-calling experience and gets high marks for his leadership ability. Arm-strength wise, he’s a tick above average, but he is as accurate as there is behind the plate, and he could even get better with some corrections to some small mechanical issues. Herbert is far from a glove-only catcher. He has very strong hands and wrists with good power from the right side of the plate.

And although his numbers in 2016 were not very good, they still believe Herbert has the chance to be an everyday catcher who makes major offensive contributions. But that’s where he needs to make the most improvement if he wants to continue to climb the organizational ladder.

Since there is a possibility that the World Series ends tonight, there is a critical date that needs to be noted:

Technically, FA season begins as soon as the last out is made. But teams can only negotiate with their own FA’s, exclusively, for 5 days after the World Series wraps. So that period could begin tonight. And of course, that sets the date for full blown FA to start. That said, I wouldn’t expect any earth shattering deals to come down the pike as the market opens up like they do in other sports. Typically, baseball FA’s like to feel out the market and let other teams elevate their value. You might have a quick nondescript fringe signing or 2 like Frenchy returning to ATL but for the most part I wouldn’t expect alot of earth shattering news for at least a couple of weeks, and more likely closer to next month’s Winter Meetings.

It is a shame Bethancourt could not get his head out of his butt long enough to understand he could not stop trying to get better. His defense alone could have kept him in the show but he got sloppy and lazy. All those passed balls will make your pitcher very nervous about throwing breaking pitches.

1925 Born May 12 in St. Louis, Missouri to Pietro and Paulina Berra
1942 Signs with the New York Yankees
1943 Enlists in the U.S. Navy
1946 Promoted to the major leagues
1947 Hits first pinch-hit home run in World Series history
1949 Marries Carmen Short on January 26
1963 Retires from playing baseball full time
1964 Named manager of the New York Yankees
1971 Named manager of the New York Mets
1972 Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1984 Quoted in Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations
1984 Promoted to manager of New York Yankees
1986 Joins Houston Astros as coach
1992 Retires from coaching

Hm. He was age 38 when he retired as a player. Played 17 years before going into all the management-type positions for another 28 years. Retired from baseball at age 67. (He also had 4 years in the Navy during WWII.)

Actually, I have a rehearsal in about an hour, then I’ll come home for dinner and some quality family time. That’ll set me up for the start of the game… except that I often defer to my daughter or Mrs. Vox. Mrs. Vox has been awesome about insisting I watch these WS games, but I try not to be a TV hog, ya know? There’s also my MIL. She kind of goes with the flow, but she actually will get into the games more than the others. She knows nobody on either team, but she likes baseball. I end up describing most of the players to her. She has come to like Kris Bryant of the Cubs alot. So there ya go.

Now of course, there is more than one TV in the house, but I like my family time. No game is worth swapping that for. So I may watch some tonight if the ladies don’t have anything they’ve been really wanting to see.

This ought to be a classic. Hendricks hasn’t allowed an ER in his last 2 starts and sports a sparkly 1.31 ERA in the post-season. Kluber dominated and won games 1 & 4. He has an eye popping 0.89 ERA in his 5 post-season starts. (I’m so glad I just proofread that before hitting “post comment” as it did read eye pooping. I’m pretty sure that I’ve never seen that actually happen, and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to.)

Yep, best one of one… Always a nail biter, a one game play-off. Every pitch is critical. For sure, I am not putting any money on either team to win or lose… So much history will be erased or made tonight.

It could well be one pitch that makes the difference for all the marbles.

Wow… just wow. Well, the full story on Matt Marksberry is now being told…by Matt Marksberry. It lifts all the mystery that surrounded it. Click on the handy Braves News link below to find it. Quite a kid. Quite a family. I’m a fan.

I’ve just discovered this. If you are interesting in following the election progress the evening of Nov. 8th, here is a wonderful alternative to the ‘lame stream media’ coverage: from Kenneth Copeland Ministries:

The countdown is on! Do you have election night plans yet?
If not, we’d like to invite you and your friends to join us for our live election coverage!
America Stands 2016: Election Coverage in the Spirit of Faith will be live starting Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. Central Time. Our end time is open so we can stay with the results as long as is reasonable. Whenever we close our evening, you can be sure there will be no question that “We have faith in God!”
Why Live Election Coverage?
Over the last few months, The LORD has been speaking to us about the importance of these elections and especially the importance of His Body praying and casting their votes as seed for the outcome.
In light of this, we have been doing all that He has led us to do in making these things clear:
We must vote in line with The WORD of God.
We must have faith in God regardless of how any election turns out.
As The LORD said through Billye Brim: “One thing will save America, and it is not the election. It is an awakening to God.”
In just a very few days the election will be over, but our stand of faith will be far from ending. The Church must stand together that our faith is in God and His WORD. That’s the reason for our Tuesday, Nov. 8, election-night programming called “America Stands 2016—Election Coverage in the Spirit of Faith.”
This Eagle Mountain International Church/Kenneth Copeland Ministries production will exceed anything we have done before and, as far as we know, will be unlike anything done elsewhere.
There will be full national and state election coverage, reporting presidential, congressional and gubernatorial races. Our program will be hosted by Pastors George and Terri Pearsons, Tim Fox, and an array of others working the news desk.
Guests will include some of our BVOVN ministers such as Bishop Keith Butler, Pastor Mac Hammond and other prominent spiritual leaders, including James Robison and local pastors, as well as notable political leaders. They will all be helping us to understand the election results. In addition, we will have a room of pray-ers who will have been in session for 48 hours.
After the election results are in, I will join the team for a time of going to The WORD, speaking our faith and praising God for His faithfulness. All this will take place on new and highly improved sets that will bless you to be partnered with us.
Now here is your part:
This program and all we have put into it will only be effective if people know about it and watch. I am enclosing links for all you need to promote this on your social media outlets so you can spread the word. I have even enclosed information for you to have a watch party with us. A watch party will allow you to rally your friends and family together around the importance of Election Day, and use your faith and pray as the results unfold. You will be able to join in on our live chats and let us know you are watching.
Talk about unity of the faith!
Our program outlets are also listed for your convenience. We have done most of the work. All you need to do is watch and get as many others as you can to add their faith to the thousands who will be watching around the world.

108 years. Is there ice skating in hell? I can only imagine what the Cubs and their fans feel! Couldn’t have been any closer. Those guys played their hearts out. Kinda reminded me of the Braves vs the Twins, ‘cept that the Twins later admitted they’d cheated by manipulating the air in the dome by having the air coming in when the Braves were up and out when the Twins were up. Influenced how the hits went.

That was an amazing, amazing game! One for the ages….and I was sooooooo mad at Joe Maddon for taking out a great starter, having a great game….then taking Jon Lester out….I was thinking he was going to have to quit as a manager, he had screwed up so royally….but….the Cubs won…..so all is forgiven….
Has to be tough on the Cleveland fans….so very close….I was wondering if the game went extras, well more extras…what if they had no pitchers they could run out? Arms were already worn out. I was thinking, after 20 innings….a tie, a draw (Dad actually mentioned a draw) both teams as world champs! 😉 I know, like a participation trophy…. but, I don’t think Cleveland really lost, Cubs were just a bit luckier….

I was sooooooo mad at Joe Maddon for taking out a great starter, having a great game….then taking Jon Lester out….I was thinking he was going to have to quit as a manager, he had screwed up so royally….but….the Cubs won…..so all is forgiven

It was still a mistake. And he may have ruined Aroldis Chapman. First, I can’t believe he pitched him Tuesday in a game that was already in hand with a 5 run lead after having him go 2.2 innings on Sunday. Then to bring him back for 4 outs last night?

How spent was Chapman? He threw 12 pitches less than 87 mph during the entire regular season. He threw 9 in the 9th inning last night, er… I mean, this morning.

But that’s not Maddon’s problem anymore. Chapman is a FA and can take his dangling arm somewhere else. It just doesn’t sit well with me. Kinda reminds me of the college coaches that will pitch their senior pitcher 150 pitches deep in a CWS game. Anything for a “W”, right?

Honestly, I’m happy for Chicago. I certainly didn’t have a dog in the fight last night. It was pretty cool seeing David Ross be able to go out that way. I think Rizzo is a terrific hitter. Sooooo impressive. Same for Bryant. And Schwarber? Man… you gotta give props for that guy to compete the way he did with no regular season behind him. Yes, I was pulling for Cleveland, but it was more to try to even up the support than anything. I’m not disappointed in the outcome at all.

But I am disappointed in Joe Maddon. I think he abused Chapman. And I’m not even a fan of Chapman. But if I’m a GM, I want a full medical exam on him before I entertain making an offer. And I want it from my own medical staff.

If Cleveland had pulled that game out in the 9th, after scoring 2 runs off Chapman (who ironically ended up with the W) to tie it in the 8th, would Maddon be hailed today? It wasn’t Maddon’s moves that won the game, it was the Cubs very talented hitters. They literally bailed him out.

But instead, Maddon is still seen as a nouveau rock star manager who goes against the proverbial book. Well, that much certainly is true. I just hope he didn’t damage Chapman’s arm when he blindly flung the discarded book in his direction.

Again, I’m not much of a fan of Chapman, especially after his domestic violence issue. But no pitcher should have been put in that situation. Not only could it have damaged him physically (and may have), he was reportedly crying in the Cubs dugout during the 17 minute rain delay for having given up the lead.

A manager’s job isn’t that difficult, really. First, he isn’t a coach, he’s a manager. His job is literally to manage the players that he is given charge over. Probably the most important aspect of that job is to put players in the best position to succeed. To do what he did to Chapman over the last 3 games goes contrary to that notion. And to survive it was not because of his decision to overuse Chapman, it was in spite of it.

Again I emphasize, Chapman threw 12 pitches less than 87 mph during the entire regular season. He threw 9 in last night’s 9th inning.

This will play out over the offseason. I suspect we haven’t heard the last of it.

The Cubs won. Schwarber, Rizzo and Zobrist won it with timely hitting in the 10 inning. Those guys are really good. Heads up baserunning by Almaro didn’t hurt anything, either. I think the series turned in Game 6 when Josh Tomlin couldn’t get out of the 3rd inning. But to have those young hitters come through in extra innings in Game 7 when it counted the most is priceless.

As I have just read this morning, the official Free Agent period did not start at 12:45am this morning with the last out of the World Series. It officially begins at 9am ET this morning… or in about 8 minutes. That’s when the exclusive 5-day period for teams to negotiate with their own FA’s begins.

So now that the Hot Stove is lit, here are the key dates to keep up with:

-> Today, Nov. 3: As we just noted, teams now have an exclusive 5-day window to negotiate with their own FA’s. The Braves FA’s are AJP, EOF, and Emilio Bonifacio. Boni is the only possibility to return… but only on a minor league deal after he hangs out there in limbo a while.

-> Nov. 7: By 5pm ET, teams must submit QO’s to their own FA’s. This is also the deadline for teams to exercise any 2017 contract options they may hold. The Braves will not extend any QO’s, nor do they have any options pending.

-> Dec. 1: The collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players’ union expires. This is a big deal which we must discuss at greater length at some point… but not now.

-> Dec. 2: Deadline for teams to decide whether to tender contracts to their arb-eligible players. This is where we need to pay attention to the Braves. We have a handful that may be non-tendered. This story line will develop over the next couple of weeks.

-> Dec. 4-8: Winter Meetings in DC (well, technically in National Harbor, MD) which of course concludes with the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 8.

Ender Inciarte, OF. Fuggidaboutit. He may even receive a real contract offer.

Arodys Vizcaino, RHRP. Another no-brainer. He’s tendered.

Ian Krol, LHRP. Oh yeah. He’s tendered. He did a really good job for us in 2016.

Josh Collmenter, SP. I think he’s tendered, but it isn’t a lock.

Anthony Recker, C. I think he’s tendered. Much depends on Coppy’s pursuit of a front line starting catcher. I don’t think he’ll be kept only as depth since he has to occupy a spot on the 40-man roster. He will benefit from the tender deadline falling in front of the Winter Meetings.

Chris Withrow, RHRP. Non-tender candidate for sure.

Paco Rodriguez, LHRP. I don’t know. He hasn’t tossed pitch #1 for the Braves while recovering from TJ, and he must occupy a spot on the 40-man roster. But he’s supposed to be 100% by Spring Training, and we have just seen a great demonstration of the value of a strong bullpen. Given the Braves glut of guys like John Gant, Rob Whalen, and Casey Kelly, the Braves may just non-tender him. Still… he’s a lefty. That gives him extra traction.

On Paco, John Hart spoke glowingly of him so I think the Braves keep him. They have been waiting two years for him to get right. We shall see, it is why teams insure players/contracts. Besides, anything less than $2 million a year is lunch money these days.

I agree, Gil, that $2M for pitching is chump change now. Staggering considering that I can remember when Mike Schmidt became baseball’s first 2 Million Dollar Man.

My gut says Paco’s tendered. It won’t be a high tender since he hasn’t pitched in 2 years. Maybe in the neighborhood of $900K? He made $520.5K while rehabbing. Shows how the arb system is somewhat out of whack. Almost doubles his salary while not contributing. Still, that’s about what he’s in line for given history.

MLBTR predicts $2.8M for Ender in his very first year of arb eligibility. That’s a nice raise from $235K. He is under team control for another 3 additional seasons, not hitting FA until 2021.

Do you buy out his arb seasons now, giving cost certainty to his remaining arb years? Or do you just let it play out? Cost certainty for the club does have value when it concerns players you consider to be your core. It also protects the player against some kind of career affecting injury.

IMO, that’s a question that shouldn’t be answered this offseason. Maybe after the new CBA is in place and after we see another full season of performance.

He still plays an elite RF. One of his catches last night may have saved the game since it saved a run before extra innings. But the dude just looks absolutely lost at the plate sometimes. He had a couple of horrible AB’s last night. He’s very fortunate that he can be hidden at #7 or 8 in that stacked lineup.

Sometimes the stars just align perfectly for you. I guess that is what happened for the Cubs this season. Two pretty evenly matched clubs going at it this year. It will be replayed ad nauseum for eternity. So many opportunities to second guess the managers etc.

Sometimes you are just plain lucky… that is, the moves you made or didn’t make did not come back to bite you.

The Braves have outrighted P Casey Kelly and P Brandon Cunniff to AAA Gwinnett. Merely procedural to open up 40-man space, but each will now be exposed in the Rule 5 draft. Given that each must have passed through waivers to be outrighted to AAA, the chances of either being selected in Rule 5 are pretty slim.

The Cards are reportedly picking up the $12M option on SP Jaime Garcia’s deal. That’s significant to the Braves in that many feel the Cards are gonna shop him. He’s been both good and bad. Good when healthy. But is he healthy? He wasn’t in 2016.

Something that flew under the radar yesterday, but is somewhat significant…

Eduardo A. Encina of the The Baltimore Sun reported last night that bullpen coach Dom Chiti is leaving to take a job with the Braves. He also writes that O’s former pitching coach Dave Wallace is taking a job with the Braves as well.

If you’ll remember, Wallace had already announced his retirement at the end of the regular season sparking many to speculate that Roger could land over there.

Encina says, “Chiti will rejoin the Braves as the team’s senior director of pitching, a role in which he will work with major league pitchers and also be involved with scouting and advisory. The Braves are signing Wallace to a two-year deal as a roving pitching instructor and adviser.”

Both of these guys left the Braves organization in 2014 to go to the O’s. More examples of guys that Frank Wren drove away, but that have now come back into the fold. This is great news for the Braves young pitching studs who will reap great benefit from Wallace and Chiti.

So the way I read this is that the Braves actual pitching coach, Chuck Hernandez, will be more of a day to day preparation guy. If you’ll recall, his greatest strength is reportedly in his focus on preparation and individualized scouting reports, detailing a plan of attack for each particular pitcher against an opponent. Wallace and Chiti will probably be more hands on in the teaching and instructing.

V, I agree! I had those same thoughts yesterday/last night when I read about it. It’s so good to see some of those very valuable coaches returning to the fold. Part of the Braves winning were (I think) directly creditable to the calibre of scouts we had pre-Wren. That guy sabotaged so much! >:-(.

From what I read, it was Bruce Manno whom they both had conflicts with. Likely it was over style… I can also see where both would rather take a job as a “roving” instructor. After all, the pitching coach puts in a full day and then there is a game. Long days and nights, lots of travel. Their new jobs would allow for a lot more in the way of normal hours.

Just like football etc. Where you once had a head coach and maybe an assistant coach, you now have a coach for just about every position plus one for each side of the ball. The head coach basically sets the agenda, tells his assistants what he wants and makes sure everyone else is doing their job.

I have to agree on DOB’s comment about Madden. It was pretty much the same knock on Bobby Cox. It is a different animal when you get to the play-offs. Lots more emotion and knowing when to set on your hands. That said, I still think Grady Little got a raw deal.

And didn’t our old friend David Ross step up? Good for him, I’m glad he was able to go out a winner.

So, do the Cubs keep three catchers next season? How about Cleveland, don’t they have an extra guy?

I won’t be surprised to see the same two teams go at it again next year, neither will I be surprised to see two totally different clubs either. For now, I’m just going to let the Cubs enjoy it….

And one last comment… WHEEEEEE! for the first time in I don’t know how long my back does not hurt….. Okay, still can’t walk worth a darn but had cortisone shots in my back today…. Man, I had forgot what it felt like to not be in constant pain. Now I know why there are so many dope addicts… Myself, I would never push it to that point… I do like to breath after all.

I am a little afraid of Charlie Morton… he has been real spotty if you ask me. The problem for me is if he is healthy and if so, for how long?

Was a “bounce back” candidate last season in PHI after several in PIT, then tore his hammy in April requiring surgery. Is supposed to be 100% by spring. No known arm issues. Could be a buy low opportunity, or even a guy who would sign a 1-year pillow deal looking to prove himself.

Wallace has 45 years of professional experience as a player, coach, front office official and advisor, including four seasons as Braves minor league pitching coordinator through 2013. He was praised for his work with Braves prospects and left for the Orioles position after clashing with a since-fired member of the Braves front office.

Gil, I hear ya! Makes me wonder about the Cubs. They have 2 guys that can start, 2 guy that’s a left handed hitter too, but he’s getting 14 mil. How much would they eat? Then again, how much will they want, IF they would trade him? Gets one thinking back to McCann…at least me, and the yankees 😉
But yeah, if Recker and Flowers could do what they did last year (Granted, a big if) why try to improve? that many base stealers?

I think the Braves will let Collmenter float and then try to re-sign him at a discount. Can they do that?

Sure they can. If they choose to non-tender him, he simply becomes another FA who can sign with anybody. And you may be 100% spot on. It’s a very plausible strategy. They could also simply negotiate a lesser deal with him before the non-tender date if they both see the benefit of it. It’s not like the other 29 teams were clamoring for his services when he was picked up by the Braves in September. It simply comes down to whether the team feels he’s worth the 40-man roster spot.

That’s something that is a bit of a curse to go along with a blessing. As many of the talented youngsters rise in the system, you have to either protect them or risk losing them. it means you have to really manage the 40-man roster very carefully. So it may come down to a question like: So do we want to protect Collmenter or P Steve Janas? Janas is a bubble guy. he might help out a bullpen that is short on arms. He was pretty effective coming out of the pen in both AA and AAA this past season. And at age 24 he could handle the jump. We know they’ll protect P Max Fried and P Lucas Sims. Those are the easy calls. But what about Janas? What about OF Connor Lien? IF Johan Camargo?

The thing is, any pick has to remain on the claiming team’s active 25-man roster for the entirety of the following season (barring injury, of course). I don’t think Lien is a candidate for that. But Fried and Sims are. Janas could be. Camargo might make a nice and cheap versatile bench piece for a small market team in need of a sure-handed utility guy.

So we have to see how the team values these roster spots. The tender date is just 2 days before the Winter Meetings start. Coppy will probably have a much better idea of how he needs to manage those spots by then. He may take every day until then to make the decision.

Here is my take on the 40 man roster. Yes, you want to protect your up and comer when they reach the point they must be protected but that is a double edged sword. 29 other teams have to also protect their top 40. It comes down to (are our scrubs better than your scrubs?) … There are a ton of guys in the pipeline so the line keeps moving. That is how the Braves kept finding guys exiting out the pipe at the independent league level.

I think the Braves tender Paco because he is all they have left to show for the Olivera trade… Insurance cover 75% if he gets hurt again but his upside is great.

Still, we don’t know what the new player’s agreement is going to look like either. I have not heard a lot on the topic. Possible changes to the number of players on the roster in April, possible limit on the number of players who can suit up for a game in September. The rest is just book keeping. Salary minimums, FA drafts for international players. Salary caps for draft picks etc.

It is a very top heavy union. Lots of money for one or two players and the rest is dog eat dog… I know the majority of the owners would love to have a salary cap but it won’t happen as long as MLB won’t open their books.

Reminds me of old ladies playing bingo. they want every game to be a winner take all, they forget there are cost involved in just the paper, equipment and the hall…

I have never been one to say a company should not make a profit, just don’t like it when folks get a little too greedy.

I think Coppy will try to line up a catcher pretty quick, otherwise he will re-sign Recker.

The majority of the stolen bases on the Braves last season were on the pitchers. Just the facts there. Maybe that is why the Braves decided to change pitching coaches or at least figured into the equation.

I think Coppy will try to line up a catcher pretty quick, otherwise he will re-sign Recker.

I’m beginning to think that the catcher position might not change any. In an interview yesterday, Coppy was asked his Top 3 offseason priorities.

His answer was: pitching, pitching and pitching

He reiterated that he wants AT LEAST 2 starting pitchers.

He also reiterated that the team intends to be aggressive in the FA market, but then added: “You don’t buy No. 1 starters, you grow them. Draft & develop them. For us, it’s not efficient to buy a No. 1 starter.” (Courtesy DO’B)

So as far as FA’s go, don’t look for them to be in on any of the top guys like Rich Hill, Ivan Nova or Jeremy Hellickson. Think more of an older guy who will be happy on a 2-year deal… like Doug Fister. He’s no longer a top-of-the-rotation kinda guy, but he’ll give you 180 solid innings as a #4.

Essentially the team wants to acquire guys with 1-2 years left on their deals, simply because they’re expecting the wave of talented prospects to begin arriving about that time in Newcomb, Fried, Sims, Allard, etc.

And even though you cannot have too much pitching, as has been evidenced over and over again, you also don’t want to block a prospect’s arrival because of a guy you can’t dump.

Look for him to be in on trade talks for guys like Jaime Garcia, who is on the last year of a deal. MLBTR suggests that St. Louis might also considering trading Lance Lynn, who will also have just 1 year left on his deal. They are in need of OF help, and a guy like Markakis might just fit the bill for them. If St. Louis really wants to dance, they can talk about Michael Wacha. That might pry Mallex and a mid-level pitching prospect away.

So, looking at who and what are availible, You are on the beam VOX. Fister might just find Atlanta agreeable give that his last real success came in the NL East. Of course, he was able to pitch against the Braves…

I expect the left coast teams to make big offers for the top tier talent. They still have deep pockets.

GM Meetings commence today… well, actually most of the FOT’s arrived and began to co-mingle yesterday. Typically it’s a big gathering for everybody to get a good feel for where everyone is before scurrying back to get ready for the Winter Meetings where the action is. DO’B reminded in a piece yesterday that in 2014 Coppy dealt JHey to STL just 4 days after the GM Meetings concluded, and sent Simba to LAA just 1 day after last year’s concluded.

Now that’s not to say he’s going to send anyone off. To the contrary, he’s on record as saying they have passed that stage of the rebuild. This year is about adding… especially pitching. It’s simply evidence that he doesn’t feel any need to wait until the Winter Meetings to conduct business.

Coppy himself says as much in the same piece: “We’re sort of like 7-Eleven. We’re not always doing business, but we’re always open.

“We’re open (to moving early on a deal),” Coppolella said. “We don’t know what’s going to be brought to us. There could be a great deal that we would have to explore further. If something makes sense for the Braves and will make us better in the short term and the long term, in the view of our scouts and our front office and our whole group, yeah, we’re not going to wait around for any type of artificial date.

“I couldn’t care less about (waiting for) the Winter Meetings or whenever. The best time to make a trade is when a good trade is offered to you. We’re always trying to find ways to get better.”

According to Mr. O’B, who is in ARI keeping his ears open at the meetings, the Braves strongly prefer a 1 year deal on new pitchers, but they’ll consider 2 if they really want a guy and it is required. I assume that means in both FA and trade scenarios.

I’m pretty sure Markakis value has risen since the day the Braves signed him. While I’m certain the Braves would have no objections to keeping him, it is going to cost them to get quality pitching or catching. Other teams know it, the Braves know it.

I expect the Braves will try to move some of the young pitching prospects they have accumulated but to be honest, if Coppy was a used car salesman, I would pass him by…

Bud Black finally found a sucker general manager to give him another opportunity to manage in the big leagues. He has been hire to lead the Rockies. I guess the front office figures they can lay the blame for their poor signings at the feet of Walt Weiss.

I’m pretty sure Markakis value has risen since the day the Braves signed him.

Yeah. He’s been a steady hitter and fielder, and his power seems to be returning. Coppy keeps saying he has no desire to trade any of his 4 OF, but I imagine that’s mostly posturing. If he gets the right offer, Kakes could be gone.

The problem the Braves face is always searching for the right mix in the outfield. Always trying to make sure they don’t overpay verses being too cheap. Knowing when a guy’s bat is slowing down, when they are making adjustments to compensate for other shortcomings.

Baseball is still a young man’s game. Problem is, by the time some learn the game, they can no longer play it. I guess that is how you can go 108 years between World Series championships.

I guess I am a bit old school when it comes to catching, I still would rather have a good defensive guy verses offense. It’s hard to quantify the difference sometimes but I think Evan Gattis is a good example. When he was first placed behind the dish for the Braves, the pitchers always seemed to get frustrated with him and did not trust him to block breaking pitches.

Lots of questions as to what to throw etc. I still loved the guy but could see the wisdom of making the trade which sent him to the Astros. The Stros have worked with him to get him to a point where he is a serviceable backstop. He is a lot more in the Mike Piazza mold of catchers than the Charles Johnson school of recieving.

Now, that does not mean I would look forward to having Corky Miller as our primary backstop but a guy who can at least hit their weight and won’t allow a passed ball every other inning is a plus. It’s why I have no problem with Recker staying in harness another season. Someone will become available.

With the addition of Matt Kemp to the line up, the need for a middle of the order guy has diminished.

The Braves have now activated all of their 60-day DL guys. By my count, the 40-man roster now stands at 37. And with 3 of those guys set to become FA’s, the roster effectively sits at 34. The home team should have plenty of wiggle room to work.

Collmenter is a pitcher you only want one of on your starting staff. However, he is like a knuckleballer, he will mess with the timing of an opposing team big time. He will be a decent number 4 guy in the rotation.

I wonder if he counts towards Coppy’s wish list of a couple of veteran pitchers?

IMO, no.

If you think about it, he was already ours when Coppy made that statement. I believe that’s a simple act of adding a guy who can give you depth if nothing else. And we certainly learned last year the value of depth, right?

He signed a 1-year deal for less guaranteed money than he received in 2016, but with incentives that can boost it. And he avoided arbitration in the process. It’s a winning deal for both sides.

Poking around I see that the deal is for $1.2M base, with incentives that could add up to an additional $1.2M. He was projected to receive about $2M in arb after making $1.875M last season.

I think you’ll see the Braves make a run at Rich Hill. His age and injury history will prevent any team from going very long on him. I’d be surprised if he gets a 3 year deal anywhere. I don’t expect Coppy to get in a bidding war with anyone, though.

There are rumblings that after CHI declined the option year on Jason Hammel that he’s square in the Braves sights.

MLBTR: Hammel, 34, contributed 166 2/3 innings of 3.83 ERA pitching to go with a 7.78 K/9, 2.86 BB/9 and 42.1 percent ground-ball rate in 2016. He experienced elbow tightness late in the regular season, though, and the club subsequently left him off its roster during playoff victories over the Giants, Dodgers and Indians.

According to reports, the Cubs allowed Hammel to make the call as to whether they picked up their option. He would have had to compete for a rotation spot, and this is a good year to be a pitcher in the FA marker given that there is no clear ace anywhere. He immediately becomes one of the top 5, IMO. Classy move by Theo. The Cubs could have simply picked up his relatively affordable $12M option and shopped him on the trade market. This way Hammel gets to choose his team and terms.

Speaking of MLBTR, they briefly had their Top 50 FA’s w/ predictions published, but apparently have taken it down for some reason. For its brief life, it had Hammel coming to ATL. Cannot remember their contract prediction.

Bowman emphasizes that this is a depth move. Looks like the crazies on social media are already giving Coppy grief for this being one of the 2 pitchers he is seeking.

Today is November 8. While it may be a date that will live in infamy as to the future of the US, it isn’t the defining date in the future of the Atlanta Braves. There are alot of logs left to be consumed in the Hot Stove before that happens.

It must be noted that the O’s did NOT extend the QO to Wieters, so he won’t cost a draft pick. That should at least set the dogs to sniffing. I just believe he’ll eventually get more $$ from someone else than the Braves are willing to commit. 3 words: Scott Boras client. Kinda sums it up.

Have I missed something, or isn’t today the day that FA opens up to all teams? Doesn’t the exclusivity period end today? Of course there’s still 6 days left for those guys who were offered the QO to accept or reject, but there’s a whole big pool of FA’s that aren’t affect by the QO.

Of course, as was noted earlier, typically FA in baseball moves much more slowly than other sports. Likely nothing more than minor moves at this point. Bench pieces and depth and such.

For the record, I still think Charlie Morton is a prime candidate for ATL. I think they can get him on a 1-year deal with an option. And I think his ground ball pitching will fit well in the new park. We’re talking #4 starter at best here, though.

I like Hammel, but don’t think he’ll take less than a 3-year deal; and he shouldn’t. MLBTR’s contract prediction is probably pretty close… just not with the Braves.

Don’t be surprised to see Morton come in on a FA deal and for Coppy to trade for the other starter.

He’s coming off a season in which he had the now infamous Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery, which seems to be in vogue. He is supposed to be at 100% by spring. He pitched 125 decent innings for KC last season (14 starts + bullpen) before fading and eventually being DL’d prior to the surgery. He could likely be had on a cheap 1-year bounce back deal, maybe even a minor league “make good” deal.

At times, Gee has been pretty good, but has had mixed results over the last 2. Still, he’s a ground ball pitcher, and a lefty to boot.

Excellent backstop. We should, uh, probably retire the hopes of him morphing into an MVP candidate, though. He’ll be 31 next year, and he’s clearly established as a Pretty Good For a Catcher hitter, not anything more.

A PGFAC hitter is still pretty nifty, especially when the player actually is a catcher. A plus defensive one, at that, so he’ll make plenty of that sweet, sweet Boras nectar.

Doesn’t change my opinion, but it did make me laugh a little on a day when I do not feel very good.

“Eventually, we’re going to have to trade some prospects,” Coppolella said. “It’s difficult to say if right now is the right time. Our preference is to explore free agency because it allows us to keep our young players and our prospects. But if an extraordinary opportunity comes along where we can get somebody that would greatly improve our big league club, we have to examine that. We owe that to our players and more important than that, we owe it to our fans.”

After reports surfaced last night that the Braves have checked in with the Rays on P Chris Archer. Bowman cautions that this is simply due diligence, but at least it shows that the Braves are not limiting themselves in conversations.

Among free-agent starting catchers, Jason Castro or Nick Hundley appear to be the most likely to land in Atlanta. Wilson Ramos is a longshot and would only become a possibility if his cost drops far below expectations and he’s willing to take a short-term deal to prove his surgically repaired right knee is sound. There has never seemed to be interest in pursuing Matt Wieters.

I have to say that I agree on his opinion. Hundley is a bit of a surprise given that he’s more of an “offense first” option. But he makes more financial sense than Wieters, Ramos or Brian McCann.

I’m still pulling for Castro in a split role, but not necessarily a platoon role. Even though his 2016 splits do show better numbers vs. RHP, TFlow’s 2016 splits also inexplicably show better numbers vs. RHP. And for his career he’s about even vs. each. Perhaps that’s why Hundley’s name has now crept into the picture. Hard to say. Hundley, also a RH, did have a .300+ batting season just 2 years ago.

“Starting pitching is the main need that we have, and we want it badly,” Coppolella said. “That being said, if the numbers get crazy or the years get too long (for free agents), we’ll just stick with what we have. Or we’ll look to the trade market for short-term guys. We aren’t going to be held hostage by giving three years to somebody that we don’t really like that much.

“We’re going to look for value, whether it’s starting pitching, catching, whatever. If the market spirals too far out of control, we’ll just move on to other areas of need. Maybe build a killer bullpen and add to (an area that is) a strength already. But candidly, we’ll see. The (pitching) market, there’s not David Price of Zack Greinke or Johnny Cueto. I mean, it’s kind of a middling group of (free agents), so you’re looking more for innings than for Cy Young candidates.”

Honesty and reality from our GM. Isn’t it refreshing to have a guy that doesn’t regurgitate the typical GM-speak? IMO, that kind of honesty helps him on the business side, too. He certainly doesn’t put up a false front.

The world sure looked like a brighter place today, hasn’t it? I’d loved to have been a fly on a certain liberal’s wall when she got the news. Bet even the paint was blistered off the interior. Also bet the Secret Service will be greatly relieved to be released from her once and for all!

The Braves have announced a one-year deal with free agent righty R.A. Dickey. The contract, the value of which remains unreported at this time, includes a 2018 option.

Atlanta has long been said to be seeking multiple starters this winter, with the team interested in top-quality arms but also seeking to limit the length of any guarantees. This contract seems to accomplish what Atlanta hoped to do with at least one slot, plugging in a sturdy veteran without committing to a lengthy deal.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted the match in ranking the top fifty free agents. The 42-year-old is a native of Nashville who starred at the University of Tennessee, so the move will allow him to live closer to home.

With Atlanta, the veteran knuckleballer will be tasked with providing innings and experience to an otherwise youthful staff. He notched over 200 frames annually from 2011 through 2015, and might have again last year had the Blue Jays not limited his exposure late in the year.

Certainly, the Braves won’t expect the Dickey of yore, but there’s some reason to hope he can still provide quality in addition to length out of the rotation. Dickey won the Cy Young award 37 years of age and provided the Jays with a 3.95 ERA over his first three campaigns in Toronto.

The smoke from the wildfires in nearby Rabun and Gilmer Counties has begun to drift into our area. You can see it and certainly smell it when you go outside. The Gilmer County fire (up near the Tennessee line) has already burned 6,400 acres and is only about 11% contained. The one in Rabun County fires (yes, multiple) were supposedly begun by an arsonist sometime late last night. What kinda loony do you have to be to purposely start a wildfire in these conditions? According to reports, there were about 5 small fires started along the Tallulah River Rd. area and another 2 near the War Woman Park area. Over 100 acres have been burned from those. I hope they catch him and burn his @$$.

BTW, I don’t believe either of these areas are too close to where FBG and her family have their Rabun County home, but I could be wrong. If anyone has a way to check in with her it wouldn’t be a bad thing. That’s only about an hour up the road for me.

Well, a certain feeling of being a bit underwhelmed. Pretty sure the deal is not for a ton of money. An innings eater, a Bartolo Colon type signing for the braves. Maybe they think he can teach Collmenter how to throw a knuckleball.

Pretty sure the Braves catchers will have a bit of a set to over which one will be forced to catch for him.

For the first time in my half century of living, I am dealing with a medical issue that has slowed me down a bit. I’ve been very blessed with good health for the vast majority of my years with the exception of a handful of self inflicted orthopedic challenges, i.e ankles, knees, back, etc.

Well, I’ve suddenly been hit with the ol’ one-two, dealing with two fairly difficult issues at the same time. Go figure. One we’ve been trying to figure out for a couple of months, and the other has crept into the picture in the last couple of weeks. The second one will require a very minor surgical procedure, hopefully in the next week or two. And to top things off, my doc gave me a sulfa antibiotic that I took for 3 1/2 days until I realized I was having an allergic reaction to it. Bad one too. Still trying to flush it out of my system. Couple more days ought to do it, I hope.

But I am still praising God through the storm. He’s showing me things I probably could not learn without being knocked down. Sometimes you have to be on the floor to really look up, ya know? And when I get back to 100%, I’ll push the gas pedal even harder to do His work. Can’t wait to get back at it.

OK. I expect him to say that. I also think tossing that confounder in an outside ballpark with the wind factored in makes it a better pitch than indoors in Toronto. Won’t hurt to face NL East lineups as opposed to AL East lineups either.

Bottom line is this: Are the Braves any better after the signing than they were before the signing? Well… I think they are. But this isn’t the top pitcher Coppy has proposed signing. This is the veteran presence that will add stability and innings to the back of the rotation. He’s the #4, and I think I’m OK with that.

Probably bad news for Josh Collmenter. Maybe that’s why they acted so quickly to get him signed. I can’t see the rotation carrying 2 soft tossers. Collmenter is probably earmarked for long relief/swingman now.

Okay, enough politics for a while. It will all play out as God has planned.

The Braves decision to sign RA Dicky is a solid one. Not spectacular but solid. I think we will now find out if it was Roger’s tutelage was the primary factor in the rehabilitation of so many heretofore washed up sore armed vets or perhaps some other unsung behind the scenes type hidden in the Braves system.

Still waiting for the other shoe to drop for the second acquisition. Here is the rub, every other team will be looking for a Shelby Miller esk type deal for their pitchers while the Braves have to be cautious they do undo the great deals they have made to date.

FBG posted yesterday about the fires in NW Georgia. All is well if not a little smoke filled in her life.

One does have to wonder the motivation for an arsonist. Just does not make a lot of sense to me. But then again, I am a somewhat sane and reasonable person. In other words, Not a Democrat… Sorry guys, just could pass up that incredibly low hanging fruit.

Question, what happens when all these millennials become middle age and realize how stupid and infantile they have been and come to understand how the left has played on their naivety? Life is not fair. If it was, we would either not need any money or we would all be born rich and beautiful. Just saying…

So I head out this morning to the doc to get groped and generally molested, only to return home and discover the Braves have inked the ageless Bartolo Colon to a 1-year deal.

Can I just say that I not only like it, I love it? Uh, the signing, not the molesting.

I think he is the perfect guy to come in here and add his ageless light to a young team in a new clubhouse in a new ballpark. Great addition to this team.

Oh, and guys… the deal only eats up $12.5M. For a guy who has 4 consecutive seasons w/ at least 190 innings, and was 6-2 w/ 3.17 ERA in his final 12 starts last season while allowing 2 ER or fewer in 9 games, that’s a bargain. And just think of what he can teach Folty and the gang. The perfect guy at the perfect time. Don’t be surprised if Coppy still doesn’t pull off a trade for another pitcher, bumping Dickey to the 5th spot.

Okay, thought I would hang out in a safe place for a while… Them kids be crazy on FB. Having a tough time dealing with reality they are…

It’s crazy….of course, so many tender lil snowflakes have never had to deal with reality, so it’s hard to start now…After it looked likely Trump was going to win, I was saying to folks on a conservative political chatroom I visit once in awhile, will there be 100,000 or 200,000 marching in the streets of NYC, Chicago, and LA??? Didn’t think it would happen in Philly, and that there would be rioting in Portland….I don’t think this is over by a long shot…they can skip work, school (with teachers and Professors giving them the time to deal, protest, cry, etc) with impunity…between the crybabies, anarchists, and folks funded by Soros, we are going to have to see them whine til election day….sigh….

of course it will be something Trump will be blamed for, he will have to make things right, to assuage the fears of the crybullies ….

Well, as for baseball…I am “ok” with the 2 young whipper-snappers the braves signed, but other than innings and hopefully advice they can offer….not quite sure how they make the team better….and unless Colon, Dickey Julio T, or Folty get hurt(always a possibility) What do you do with Aaron Blair, and Wisler? Blair will be 25 in May, Wisler is 24. Neither really strike me as bullpen arms…so one will be sent to AAA. And all the other prospects don’t really have a shot at breaking in, unless everyones elbow blows out…Again, if you got 2 #2’s ( you can argue Colon was a #2 last year, but he is or will be 44 next year, and we saw how quickly AJ went downhill after hitting .300) it’s different. So, is the pressure such to be a .500 team next year,(for the whole year of course) that pitchers advancement will be retarded because there is no room at the inn? Or are they going to now trade some of said prospects for a 3rd baseman, or catcher?
And adding yet another starter ,thus making not Dickey, but Folty the 5th starter…again, is that really good for pitching development?
The more I type, the less this all makes sense….every deal, every draft pic has been to acquire more pitching, and while some of the talent is still very young, there are guys 23-24, 25 that won’t get a chance to work out the kinks a the big league level on a team not expected to compete (no matter what they say, they could get lucky, and be in the hunt for a wildcard sure, but .500 would still be a good year ) i
I know, just 1-2 year deals, but are the 2018 braves going to be willing to let kids suck like Smoltz and Glavine did , to get their feet wet?

First, Vox, my prayers and God’s promises are with you. Is. 54 “NO weapon formed against you shall prosper. Not even these. Don’t remember which verse it is but Satan was sternly warned, “Touch NOT mine anointed and do my servant no harm!” Part of your salvation is your perfect health. Jesus bought it for you. “Call those things that are not as if they were.” I’ll forever stand with you that you live in perfect, blood-bought, vibrant health, in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

These extra pitchers – some may be trade bait, or to be flipped for someone else. Maybe?

These extra pitchers – some may be trade bait, or to be flipped for someone else. Maybe?

Cl, that is what I was reading in comments on the post on mlbtr, I hadn’t thought of that. If the braves are say, 53-57 in July, 12 games out of 1st place, 8 from a wildcard spot, if Dickie or Colon are solid, and healthy, they can perhaps flip them….hopefully for a young pitcher, who recently had TJ surgery with potential upside, down the road 😛

Ber, don’t undersell what Colon will bring to this team. And I don’t think Dickey was a bad signing either. Exciting? No. But I believe they were solid and accomplished exactly what Coppy wanted to accomplish… veteran arms on short deals to bridge to Sean Newcomb and Max Fried.

Colon won 15 games last season… far and away more than anyone Atlanta trotted to the mound, Julio included. And he went for over 191 IP. Again, far and away more than anyone who started for the Braves. And he can provide some guidance and tutelage to our young pitchers, Folty in particular, better than anyone on the Braves last year. His signing alone makes the team better.

As for Dickey, if Wisler or Blair or any of the others can beat him for a rotation spot, then they’ll have the job. If they can’t, then the rotation is better. Pretty simple.

What do you do with Aaron Blair, and Wisler?

If one or the other makes the rotation, then they make it. If not, they go to AAA Gwinnett and work to get better and earn a spot back on the roster. And should any ML starter go down, we have alot better depth than the straws we grasped at late last season.

And adding yet another starter ,thus making not Dickey, but Folty the 5th starter…again, is that really good for pitching development?

Why is Folty #5? What makes Dickey jump over Folty? No reason to assume that. There’s no reason to assign any slot to any pitcher before spring to see who earns it. But on the surface, Folty should be #3 at worst, and probably still #2. Currently it’s probably more like Julio, Folty, Colon, followed by Dickey, Wisler or Blair in some order. Again, we have to see who earns what. Both Wisler and Blair hadplenty of time to emerge last season, and neither really too control of their on plight. And it’s certainly possible that neither will.

Coppy and Co. have made it perfectly clear, and quite transparent, that the plan is to bridge to Newcomb and Fried, and that Wisler and Blair have to prove they still belong. Neither did in 2016.

The more I type, the less this all makes sense….every deal, every draft pic has been to acquire more pitching

Take a deep breath. It’s only Nov. 12. They haven’t even gotten to the Winter Meetings yet. Coppy’s stated remaining goals are for a catcher and super-utility type player. I’ve got no reason to believe he won’t get what he wants. He always manages to somehow.

are the 2018 braves going to be willing to let kids suck like Smoltz and Glavine did , to get their feet wet?

Blair sucked. Wisler sucked at times. Neither will be a Glavine or a Smoltz. If you really look at what the Braves have, Wisler and Blair were never mentioned among the guys that the team is excited about. But Newcomb, Fried, Allard… those are the guys that will be the next wave of great pitching.

Truth is, if you could get something of real substance for Blair or Wisler right now, you might ought to do it. I think I would.

On a personal note, thanks so much for the prayers and well wishes. I have not 1, but 2 hernias. Hey… if you’re gonna do something, do it up big, right? I also have a myriad of likely related digestive issues. The hernias will be repaired on Tuesday. We’ll see how the digestive issues resolve themselves. Some will. Others will after some much needed lifestyle changes.

God has shown me very clearly that I have not taken care of His temple in the way that I should. That’s on me. It’s also something I can change, and I will. This was just a minor setback. This too shall pass.